


not a trace of doubt in my mind

by lutzaussi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Broccoli, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, M/M, Photography, Post-Fourth Shinobi War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 23:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12781767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lutzaussi/pseuds/lutzaussi
Summary: Shino takes up photography and a certain picture he takes causes confusion.Really, it's just broccoli.(or, is it?)





	not a trace of doubt in my mind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unseelieknight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unseelieknight/gifts).



The camera was an old portable one that his father had bought him from a second-hand shop. It hadn’t worked when he got it, but through careful cleaning and restoring, he’d finally managed to get it working. Photography was an interest of his. Despite everyone’s belief that he was merely interested in insects (which he  _ was _ ), Shino had other hobbies that he pursued.

Frankly, hobbies were what kept him going after the world had finished cleaning up after the Fourth Shinobi War. With the dissolution of the long-held shinobi systems, it meant that most people had to find new things to do with their lives. Most of the Aburame went into the pest business, if only because the term “exterminator” was extremely offensive to their way of life, but Shino didn’t want to do that. He was already known by everyone in Konoha as the “weird bug dude” so he figured he might as well branch out.

Photography allowed him that.

-

First it was just candids of his friends, whenever they got together. The war had somehow made them all closer, to the point of the others actually talking to him, which was a little weird. Not necessarily unwelcome, but weird.

Still, it was usually Kiba and Hinata that he hung around when the Konoha 11. Twelve? Thirteen? Sai had taken to tagging along with Naruto and Sakura, and Sasuke was technically in the custody of the Hokage and the Council, but he did appear at their outings sometimes with a chaperone. Namely, one very bored Hatake Kakashi who tended to get distracted by and disappear with Gai.

Sasuke was actually the one most of them ignored, but Shino didn’t care. The fact that all of them survived without much harm to them was all but a miracle; he didn’t want to worry about the last remaining Uchiha. Especially after all the grief he’d sent the rest of them through.

The others didn’t mind the camera, or the pictures. In fact, Sakura actually made an offhanded comment that she was glad somebody was documenting their lives. So he continued with it, tried to capture the memories and moments that would shape not only their futures, but the futures of those coming after them.

-

Sometimes he would aimlessly wander Konoha, considering the future, taking pictures whenever he found a composition he liked. Truth be told, he felt sort of useless because he wasn’t doing anything, but his dad told him to take his time. He did as told.

In doing as told, he began to encounter one person in particular that he never expected to see around Konoha. Namely, Kankurou of Sunagakure. 

Partially he understood; Temari was a diplomat. Temari was living in Konoha for that job. Kankurou, it seemed, was her bodyguard. Or just her companion. Shino couldn’t really figure that out, most shinobi had retired to become civilians but he wasn’t sure if Kankurou had.

But that didn’t explain the strange occurrences (and he was fairly sure that it wasn’t coincidence, at that point) that were Kankurou’s sudden appearances wherever he was. And the following wheedling that would ensue to convince Shino to show him around, or tell him where a good restaurant was, or have him share trivia about Konoha.

Had Shino not grown up with Kiba, arguably the most annoying person in Konoha, he probably would have found Kankurou bizarre and irritating. But, as it were, he did grow up with Kiba and he didn’t find Kankurou annoying in the least. In fact, despite their mutual distrust that had turned over the years into apathy at best, he found that the two of them were rather similar. Both were seen as somewhat strange by their Konoha peers, both had difficulty forming and maintaining friendships, and Kankurou actually expressed interest in bugs. It was almost enough to send Shino straight into shock, but then he remembered what he had been told by one of his (well-meaning but socially awkward) aunts.

“If anyone you talk to expresses interest in bugs,” she had told a very young Shino and somewhat older Torune, “woo them and marry them as soon as possible. Chances like that can pass very quickly and don’t occur but rarely.”

Well. As with his dad’s advice, Shino did as he was told.

-

The personal photographs, those he had taken of his friends and others that he didn’t particularly want everyone to see were put in an album. He did allow his friends to see the album, but nobody took him up on that offer until the day Kankurou asked, “So what are you doing with all of the pictures you take?”

That startled Shino out of a perfect shot of the waning light, and he said, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you work really hard at it. You could probably sell large prints or do galleries,” Kankurou said, shrugged.

“Hm,” Shino didn’t personally think he really had the skills for that, but it was interesting that Kankurou thought so. He did have a fairly good eye for art, it seemed, so maybe he was being serious. “I have an album.”

“Can I see it?” Kankurou asked, and there was nothing in his tone but sincere curiosity.

“Sure,” Shino shrugged, shifted his camera and headed off. Might as well try to increase their friendliness, since the wooing was going rather badly.

It wasn’t the first time Kankurou had been to the Aburame house, as Shino had brought him for dinner to introduce him to his father. Nobody else was at the house, and Shino slipped in to grab the album, leaving Kankurou outside.

They sat on the porch, and Kankurou leafed through the collection of photographs. Occasionally he made noises that seemed to be impressed.

At least, until he hit one of the pages near the middle of the album, a spread of four photos that were from a picnic Hinata and Sakura had arranged.

“Is that...broccoli?” Kankurou asked, pointing at one the first photograph on the page. Shino leaned in, inadvertently brushing shoulders with Kankurou, and peered at it.

“Yes,” he said.

“Why is Ino giving Sakura a broccoli bouquet?” Kankurou asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Wait--there’s another one,” he had flipped the page ahead; the photographs on that page were from a different day. “A garland of broccoli? How does that even work?”

Indeed, there Ino handing Sakura a garland of broccoli, in the background of a picture of Hinata holding Akamaru. Honestly, Shino couldn’t tell how Ino could’ve made broccoli into a garland.

They continued through the album, and found five more pictures of Ino or Sakura giving the other broccoli. On the last full page there was also a picture of  _ Hinata _ giving Temari a head of broccoli, taken only a couple days before at another one of their surprisingly popular picnics.

“What does the broccoli mean?” Kankurou muttered, carefully shutting the album, looking at Shino.

Shino looked back at him. “We could always ask them,” he said reasonably. “Or you could ask your sister.”

-

They decided it would probably be best to ask Hinata because Kankurou didn’t trust Temari to give him a straight answer and both Sakura and Ino were sort of terrifying. That and Shino actually knew where Hinata was, she was training with Neji at one of the practice grounds.

Kiba was sitting out of their range with Naruto, both of them yelling at Hinata to kick Neji’s ass. Akamaru came wandering over to Shino when he and Kankurou appeared, licked Shino’s hands before going to inspect Kankurou.

“‘ey, Shino!” Naruto waved.

“Weren’t you doing stuff?” Kiba asked, pointedly glancing at Kankurou several times.

“Have a question for Hinata,” Shino said, sat down next to Kiba.

Kiba and Naruto resumed heckling, and eventually Kankurou managed to sit down next to Shino. Akamaru promptly laid down on top him.

Hinata ended the sparring session with a somewhat terrifying extension of her usual  _ Juhou Soushiken _ , namely throwing the twin lion heads away from her and nearly scraping Neji, who was at least fifty meters away. The cousins bowed to each other, talked kindly for a few moments, and then Hinata turned to her pep squad.

“You didn’t have to stay the whole time,” she said in a somewhat embarrassed tone to Kiba and Naruto. While she was over her crush on Naruto and working on her social anxiety, she still didn’t like people to be present when she was training.

Kiba rolled his eyes. “Yeah, without us yellin’ you wouldn’t have done as well, obviously. C’mon, asshole, let’s go find food,” he said to Naruto, catching the other in a headlock and whistling for Akamaru to follow. Full of regret, the dog stood and trotted after his partner.

“Actually, we were just trying to stay out of Sakura’s warpath, winning was all you!” Naruto yelled back when they were nearly to the gate. Akamaru made a  _ boof _ noise in agreement.

“Why are you here, Shino?” Hinata turned to ask once the other three were out of sight.

“Question,” he said.

“Hm?” she began stretching out her legs.

“Why were you giving my sister broccoli?” Kankurou asked.

Hinata’s head dropped so her face wasn’t visible, but Shino could tell that she was tomato-red. “I, uh, um, ask, uh, Ino?” she babbled, flipping back to her feet. She patted Shino on the head, said, “Nice seeing you both!” before speed walking away.

“What the fuck,” Kankurou said.

The plot, whatever it was, appeared to thicken.

-

It took Shino’s beetles nearly a full day to find Ino, and once they had he went to get Kankurou. Kankurou seemed to be expecting him, and Shino felt a little helpless as he tried to parse out their relationship. Could they even consider themselves friends? Was the wooing working? And, frankly, how the hell  _ was _ he supposed to woo Kankurou? 

Briefly, Shino wished that he had been better socialized as a child. Maybe he would understand things like wooing if that had happened.

Ino was in one of the fields that was covered with wildflowers at that time of year. She appeared to be making a whole hell of a lot of crowns out of intertwined flowers, and squeaked when they body-flickered right next to her.

“Oh, fuck, that’s why there were beetles in my room this morning,” she griped, glancing from Shino to Kankurou. “You’re lucky I didn’t kill them by accident.”

“Thank you,” he said, and Ino rolled her eyes.

“What do you want, I’m busy,” she said, dramatically gesturing to the flower crown pile.

“Why do you give Sakura broccoli,” Shino started.

“And why does Hinata give my sister broccoli?” Kankurou finished.

Ino’s eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, that, well,” she leaned forward, hand against her mouth and eyebrows somewhat pinched, as if she was thinking of what to say, “Well, you know how Sakura and I are dating?”

Shino nodded. Kankurou shook his head.

“Anyway, it’s a sign of love between women, I guess. So that’s why I give it to Sakura,” she explained. Then her expression turned devious, “You say my dear Hinata-chan has been giving Temari broccoli?”

Kankurou froze. “Wait a minute,” he began, but Ino cut him off with muttering.

“I mean, it is sort of obvious, they practically sit on each other whenever we get together, and there’s all that discreet touching. Not like Naruto and Kiba--holy shit, they’re exactly like you two,” she announced, as if she had just cured every illness ever.

“What,” Shino said.

“What?” Kankurou said.

“Uh, you’re going out, right? Because everyone has be assuming that for like,  _ weeks _ ,” she said.

“No?” Kankurou said.

“Damn, I just lost so much money,” she muttered. “Wait, so you’re not going out.”

“No!” Kankurou said.

“Are you  _ going _ to go out?” she asked, as if they were talking about something that wasn’t as life-changing for both Kankurou and Shino.

“I hope so,” Shino said at the same time Kankurou said, “I wish.”

They looked at each other, both turned bright red, and looked away.

“We are both very bad at this,” Kankurou said in what was perhaps supposed to be a menacing tone.

Ino merely started laughing. “Oh my god, you two are so oblivious. Here,” she fished a pair of vouchers for Ichiraku out of a pocket and pressed them into Kankurou’s chest, shaking with amusement all the while, “first date night on me. Please talk to each other about things that are not broccoli. Figure out your relationship. From experience, I highly recommend kisses. See ya.”

She body-flickered away, leaving the vouchers in one of Kankurou’s hands. He looked at Shino with something like disbelief in his eyes, but Shino was still just trying to process what the hell had happened.

“Ramen?” Kankurou eventually asked.

“Sure,” Shino said, almost on reflex.

-

They decided they were going to take it slow, which was obviously why the next night Kankurou was sleeping in Shino’s futon with him. It didn’t feel weird at all, for either of them, which was bizarre and also delightful. Cuddling? The best.

Which made it all the worse when Kiba broke into his bedroom the next morning.

“Bro! Are you going out with Kankurou because Ino said you are and I just watched Hinata make out with Temari for like,  _ an hour _ last night so I don’t know what the truth is,” he steamrolled.

Then he noticed the second person in Shino’s bed, and shrieked.

“Kiba,” Shino said, covering his face with his hands. “Go away.”

“Right!” Kiba squeaked, and fled back out of the window.

-

The next time Shino saw Hinata, Ino was counting out money into one of her outstretched hands.

“I told you,” Hinata was saying. “You may know  _ love _ , but you don’t know Shino.”

“I can’t,” Ino sputtered, slapped the money into Hinata’s palm, “God, why did we start placing bets, I’ve lost so much money since Gai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei.”

“You don’t pay very good attention to the  _ people _ ,” Hinata said, pocketing the money. She then noticed Shino, who was waiting for Kiba to buy him dango to go (as penance), waved brightly at him. “Shino-kun! Haven’t seen you for a couple days,” she said, walked over to pull him into a hug, and body-flickered off.

Shino turned his eyes to Ino, who looked sour. “Please don’t ask,” she muttered, walking past him down the street.

“Ino,” he called, when she was a ways away from him. It was out of character, but apparently he could be an asshole when the situation called for it. “Thanks for the vouchers. We had a nice date.”

She turned and glared, and stomped off.  
  



End file.
